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Piazza della Rotunda
Another busy and crowded piazza, the Piazza della Rotunda is the home of the awe-inspiring Pantheon (just seen on the right) together with one of Rome's many obelisks. This one was originally erected as a pair with the one at the Villa Celimontana by Ramesses II in the Temple of the Sun at Helioplis in 13 B.C. It was subsequently brought to the Iseum, the Temple of Isis, but it is not known who was responsible for this relocation. In the early 18the century, Pope Clement XI erected the obelisk in the Piazza della Rotunda in front of the Pantheon. The base for the obelisk is decorated with water-spouting dolphins.
